Fast Food and Your New Year's Resolution

So, how's that New Year's resolution going so far? You know, the one in which you promised yourself you’d drop 10 or 15 or 20 pounds? Did it survive your first fast-food lunch of the year?

Food-related resolutions are high on the list for those who do the resolution-thing each year. Sixty percent of those making New Year’s resolutions, according to a recent poll by Harris Interactive on behalf of Applebees restaurants, make food-related New Year’s resolutions. Of those:

"71 percent agree that it is more difficult to keep their food-related resolutions when dining out than when eating at home;

"75 percent say that having a wide variety of lower-calorie meals to choose from when dining out would make it easier for them to keep those resolutions; and

"41 percent resolve to lower their overall calorie intake."

Applebees funded the survey to help promote their own “Unbelievably Great Tasting and Under 550 Calories” menu which is being offered at their New York City locations but Applebees is hardly the first restaurant chain to offer such a menu. The past couple of years have seen enormous growth in the offering of healthier or, at least, not-as-bad-for-you offerings in the quick-service market. A quick promenade through Internet-land makes it clear that, while this trend may change over time, it’s left on indelible mark on fast-food menus around the country.

"Be spontaneous: Learn to be flexible and creative when eating out or traveling. Come up with a list of pre-approved foods you know are low in calories so you can avoid making too many on-the-spot decisions.

"Fast food is okay: There are low-calorie options available. Learn them before arriving at the restaurant."

While plenty of quick-service places now have low-calorie options available, they’re usually not the items being heavily promoted. Those calorie-conscious options aren’t there just for your health.

"Salads and other healthy foods are at McDonald's and other restaurants because of what's called the 'veto effect,'" John Stanton, PhD, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, told Web MD. "If there are five people who want to go to lunch together and one says, 'I don't want a hamburger,' that person can veto the other four from going there. If a salad is available, McDonald's can do what it really wants to -- sell the other four hamburgers."

Of course – and you knew this was coming – there are plenty of other pitfalls to watch for, as well. If you’ve been frequenting places that offer lots of choices made from organic ingredients in an effort to watch your weight, you might need to rethink your strategy. Just because an item is organic doesn’t mean it’s low-calorie or low-fat. Organic simply refers to how the ingredients were grown or produced, it has nothing to do with calorie or fat content. Organic Authority describes an experiment to gauge public understanding of the term ‘organic’:

“Researchers presented the students with two types of cookies; labeled ‘Oreo cookies’ or ‘Oreo cookies made with organic flour and sugar,’ both were clearly marked as containing 160 calories. And guess what? Students perceived the cookies labeled ‘organic’ had fewer calories and admitted they would eat more of them."

So, what’s a resolution-swearing, calorie-counting, fast food junkie to do? Happily, there are plenty of options. Of course, if you decide to take Fitness Magazine’s approach and plan ahead, plan ahead a little more and take advantage of some do-it-yourself fast food with recipes right here at Delish.

Curious about the latest fast-food freebie? Looking for the dish on the newest cooking-show star? Delish's Food in the News blog provides daily reports on all things food. From wacky trends to the media frenzy surrounding product recalls, our bloggers will satiate your appetite for all that's newsworthy in food.
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